The third Zagreb Pride Ride will take place on 25 June to raise awareness of discrimination and violence against LGBTIQ persons, the Proud Zagreb initiative announced earlier this week, adding that they will not stop fighting for their rights until they achieve full equality.

“As populism and nationalism flourish globally, threatening freedom of choice, our identities join us together into a community in which solidarity is inherent,” Proud Zagreb said on the occasion of International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, observed on 17 May.

They said they wanted all members of the LGBTIQ community to know that they were not alone and that their identities were the source of their power.

Despite the efforts by activists and organisations focusing on the protection of the human and civil rights of LGBTIQ persons, only modest progress, if any at all, has been made, said Proud Zagreb member Azra Ayyash.

She warned that LGBTIQ persons were subjected to violence on a daily basis, citing discriminatory messages in the media and on social networks as well as physical attacks.

Ayyash said that last year attacks had been reported in Zagreb, Rijeka, Kaštel Sućurac and Split but that the actual situation was much worse, in particular in small communities where people fear that their complaints might trigger even worse consequences.